Scripture Reading: Isa. 52:14—53:3; 1 Cor. 1:22-24; 2 Cor. 8:9; Mark 6:1-6
Ⅰ
The purpose of God's move in the stage of His incarnation is:
A
To bring God into man—Matt. 1:20-21, 23; Isa. 7:14; 9:6.
B
To make God man that man may become God in life and nature but not in the Godhead—John 1:1, 14; 12:24.
C
To mingle God with man that God and man may be one—Lev. 2:4-5.
D
To accomplish God's redemption for man—Rom. 8:3; 1 Pet. 1:18-20; Heb. 9:26, 28, 12; 2:14.
E
To carry out God's salvation in man—1 Tim. 1:15.
F
To impart the divine life into man—1 John 4:9.
Ⅱ
The incarnated Savior is the arm of Jehovah; the arm of Jehovah is God Himself in His saving power—Isa. 53:1b:
A
When the Lord Jesus came out to preach the gospel, that was the unveiling of the arm of Jehovah—Luke 4:14, 18-19; Mark 1:14-15.
B
The Old Testament term is the arm of Jehovah; the New Testament term is the power of God—1 Cor. 1:24.
C
Although Christ was unveiled as the arm of Jehovah, many did not see that He was Jehovah Himself coming in power to save them; they did not believe, because He grew up like a tender plant before Jehovah and like a root out of dry ground— Isa. 53:2a; John 1:46; Matt. 13:55.
D
When the Lord Jesus comes back, the remnant of Israel will repent and wail and be saved (Zech. 12:10-14; Rom. 11:26-27); at that time they will confess the contents of Isaiah 53, and this chapter will be full of taste to them.
Ⅲ
As the complete God, signified by the arm of Jehovah, the power of God, Christ became a perfect man, signified by a man of sorrows—vv. 1b, 3a; John 1:1, 14; 1 Tim. 2:5:
A
The arm of Jehovah is Jehovah in His power, and the man of sorrows is Jesus; when these two are added together, they equal incarnation.
B
In 1 Corinthians 1:22-24 Christ crucified corresponds to the man of sorrows in Isaiah 53:3, and the power of God corresponds to the arm of Jehovah in verse 1.
Ⅳ
As a perfect man, the Lord Jesus lived a lowly and sorrowful human life—vv. 2-3:
A
He grew up like a tender plant before Jehovah and like a root out of dry ground—v. 2a:
１
The plant here refers to a sprout, which is tender, small, and delicate; because He was such a small, delicate person, no one would pay attention to Him.
２
He grew up like a root out of dry ground, which signif ies a diff icult environment; this means that He was born of a poor family—v. 2a; Luke 2:21-24; cf. Lev. 12:8; 2 Cor. 8:9.
３
The Lord Jesus was raised in the home of a poor carpenter in the despised town of Nazareth and in the despised region, Galilee; this was the fulf illment of the dry ground in Isaiah 53:2a.
４
The Lord's environment being one of dry ground means that His environment did not render Him any help at all:
ａ
Everything that He had was from God; He did not receive or expect anything from His surroundings that would encourage, support, or comfort Him.
ｂ
Our Lord had God's will as His satisfaction all His life; He was satisf ied only with God—John 4:34; 5:30; 6:38.
ｃ
Our Lord was never discouraged (Isa. 42:4; 49:4); He had no hope toward the world and did not expect to receive anything from it; His only hope was in God, and His only satisfaction was in God.
ｄ
Those who take their satisfaction in God will never be disappointed—John 4:13-14.
B
He had no attracting form nor majesty that men should look upon Him—Isa. 53:2b:
１
Jesus had neither an attracting form, nor did He have a beautiful appearance; He did not have any form or comeliness that would cause others to appreciate Him.
２
Instead of majesty, Jesus had poverty (Matt. 8:20), and instead of an attractive form and a beautiful appearance, He had a visage and form that were marred (Isa. 52:14).
３
Visage denotes the appearance and also refers to the face or facial expression; Christ's face and His form were marred (disf igured) in order that He might save us; this is astonishing, different from what people expected Christ as a servant of God to be—v. 15.
C
Christ was despised and forsaken of men, like one from whom men hide their faces and whom men do not esteem—53:3.
D
The Lord Jesus lived as a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; this was a part of Christ's qualif ications for accomplishing redemption—v. 3a.
E
He was a "man whose chief distinction was, that His life was one of constant painful endurance" (Keil and Delitzsch).
F
Christ's being such a man and His living such a lowly and sorrowful human life fully qualif ied Him to be the Redeemer and the Savior to save us from Satan, sin, death, and self— Heb. 2:14-18; Matt. 1:21; Rom. 8:3; 2 Tim. 1:10; Matt. 16:24-25.
Ⅴ
Mark 6:1-6 may be regarded as a fulfillment of the prophecy in Isaiah 53:2-3:
A
The Nazarenes, blinded by their natural knowledge, knew the Lord Jesus according to the f lesh, not according to the Spirit— Mark 6:2-3; 2 Cor. 5:16.
B
Only in the Gospel of Mark is the Lord Jesus called a carpenter— 6:3:
１
Carpentry is not a magnif icent work, but it requires much f ineness and patience; in such a work the Lord Jesus was found in fashion as a man (Phil. 2:8), not in loftiness but in lowliness, f ineness, and patience.
２
In Mark 6:3 the word carpenter is used in a despising manner:
ａ
The Nazarenes were astounded by the Lord's teaching, by His wisdom, and by His works of power, but they regarded Him as a person of low status—vv. 2-3.
ｂ
They were stumbled in Him because, although they heard wonderful words out of His mouth and saw some of His marvelous deeds, they considered that He did not have a high status or degree.
ｃ
They saw the Lord Jesus as one who was merely a carpenter; therefore, they were stumbled in Him, and they despised Him.
C
The record in Mark 6:1-6 should cause us to ask ourselves what we want and what we value.